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Hey mama nature! You are really putting my patience to the test. With cloudy skies ever-present, once again my ambition for the celestial photo is on indefinite hold. With a long over due road trip in process, I spent the day at a place very close to my heart. GilHaven! During the fall of the year, I get to spend time with family members as we share our common love of the outdoors, and the harvest of some tasty venison. The experience of Gilhaven is cherished and my biggest regret is not being able to spend more time within the confines of what I consider this superman’s fortress of solitude. So in summary, I will cherish the time I am able to spend there, and todays shots are just a small sample of the sights of this magical place.

GRAPES OF WRATH

This first shot, I am calling The Grapes of Wrath… Why? I just like the sound of that title. Also for some reason I had a difficult time capturing this image. The light was not in my favor as what little sun that was available casted some harsh shadows during composition. We waited for just the right cloud cover before snapping.

Soaked MIlk Pod

Next we have a milk pod that has burst through its confines, only to be saturated by the previous evenings rain fall. I often used these little floaters to check for wind direction during the hunting season.

Pretty Chilly Flower

For the most part, flowers like this have succumb to the chills of our fall season, but for some reason this flower seems to be holding on. I felt its presence odd and opted for the capture because it shows the resiliency of nature.

End of the season

Unsure of what this is called, I snapped this shot, simple because I found it interesting. I like the slight arch in the leaves that exist on the base of the wildflower. Additionally I also found the points of the flower to add a sharp contrast to the composition.

FLOWER

On the other side of the lane, I found this bud which is similar to the above but, the color of the flower was more towards purple. What can I say other than I have a draw to purple.

SLOW EXPOSURE RUSHING WATER

Having made my way to the creek bed, I opted to do a little slow exposure photography. Using the settings of ISO 100 and an aperture of 22, I was able to slow my exposure down to 2 seconds. The goal was to make the water appear to be moving within the composition. Using a tripod and getting right into the water, I was able to achieve the appearance of motion in this shot. And yes, I did get soaked as I laid on the ground.

As always I exercised my HDR skill and opted to compose this shot.

HDR CREEKBED

There is something to be said about HDR’s and although I am still uncertain how this shot fits into my likeness scale, I found the contrasts stunning.

My last shot is a redo of a constant within the creek bed. It is an HDR version of what I refer to as the stone that goes unturned.

HDR REFLECTIVE STONE

When last visited, I shot this pic with a Canon xsi camera and my Tamron 18 to 270 lens. Using my 7d and the same lens, I took advantage of the zone focus feature and composed this HDR. Although it is simply a rock in the water, I enjoy the reflection that is ever-present, when the creek is low and small pools of water remain still. This allowed me to capture the HDR version of the stone that goes unturned.

All images were captured with a 7d and or the Canon 100 to 400 L series, Tamron 18 to 270.

Iso’s ranges between 100 and 400 and apertures between 5.6 and f 22. Shot in manual mode shutter speeds varied from 2 seconds to 1/500. Edited with Light room and HDR’s created with Photomatics Lr plugin.

Hope you enjoy, and very soon we will be sharing images of The Whitetail Deer along with various other wildlife species. Until the skies clear, these photos will pass the time until I nail that shot of the Milky way.

With my obsession of a Milky way shot on hold due to Mother Nature, I took a little trip about today and decided to shoot around home. Some of my favorite shots are always the long exposure pictures and wanting to give my wide-angle a bit of a test, I settled on a little hidden secret near my home. Many drive right by this little treasure and fail to realize it exists, but I can suppose that the mindfulness of a photographers eye plays a huge part in knowing the location of this small scenic falls.

The terrain is very steep, and the light was harsh along with a stiff breeze but the composition I was looking to capture came to life, as I awaited the clouds to block the sunlight that made certain parts of the photo washout.

I simply took a 1 second exposure @15mm using an iso of 100 with an aperture of 22.

As of late my obsession has been the Milky way. As luck would have it, Mother Nature has not been kind to me. We have experienced cloudy skies and the weekends have been rain filled, which is a huge change when compared to our very hot and dry summer. No complaints though, we in fact need the rain, and it almost seems that this delay is happening for a reason. I am simply going to chalk it up to fate. This shot my friends is going to happen and the guiding hand of fate will determine when. In the meantime however I will have to put my obsession on hold and return to just simply shooting..

This post is just simply a placeholder of sorts, and as I type, my thought are dwelling on another site that I have considered shooting. I think it may be time for a slow exposure involving some water and some rocks. Check back later I may have a photo up as well as how I captured it.

One last thing, Our store is now on-line and images are slowly being added. Our first priority was our clients. We have uploaded our wedding photos and have offered these shots to friends and family’s of our clients at cost. Simply put, Our feeling on providing shots to friends and families was an option that needed to be made available. Everyone likes to have choices. More to come!

Mike

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AHHH,,, once again the best laid plans of mice and men…. This week I had planned on taking a little journey to a place much darker than my native Western New York, in an attempt to nail my shot of the Milky Way. Instead mother nature decided to open the skies and allow some much-needed heavy rain to fall on our drought ridden soil. With mostly cloudy skies for this weekend and some needed time fulfilling family obligations, I spent the day watching my daughter kick but in a volleyball tournament, held at one of our local schools. Additionally when I took my daughter to her school for the team bus ride to the tournament local I figured I would get a few minutes to capture some sunrise pictures, but once again the best laid plans came by to change the configuration on my agenda.

Life is busy, and they say a body in motion stays in motion. I tend to agree but, I like to think that if the motion you stay in is anything but forward than what’s the point. Forward motion is the direction I choose and despite how hard life hits you, the true test of one’s resolve is take thee hit, and get up, and push forward…. We like to call this having heart. In my opinion, everything happens for a reason, and this change of plans was not devastating nor an inconvenience. I was able to spend some time with my daughters, and meet some people who had some of my shared interests. Funny how word gets around. One gentleman, asked me about my camera, and after some conversation, He said that he recognized my name as he associated it with a shot I took of the Grand Island Bridge. This occurence still floors me, and I have to say that in some ways it feels good to have your name connected with something that has received some notice.

I still have much work to do and as I move forward, I do so with a positive charge. A few shots from day..

This year MSP has seen a big jump in the number of weddings we do. Officially I have never considered myself a wedding photographer, but oddly enough, this year has proven that many of you do. My approach to photography may be different, but never wanting a stereotype associated with what I do, despite the recommendations of the so-called experts, I refuse to specialize in one discipline of photographic art. Staying flexible and having a unique approach to my photography, has given me this opportunity. I would like to thank all of you, who put your trust in me to capture what I feel is one of the most important event in one’s life. As MSP moves forward you have my promise that I will always show up with my game face on. You can expect my very best every time I step behind that lens.

Everything that is said about M.Sargent Photography good or bad is read and We use these to run with the continous improvement philosphy. Thanks again to everyone who has helped make MSP what it is today…

MIKE

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Over the past several months, one of my quests in photography has been to photograph the Milky way. Although I have caught a few shots, to date the composition I have been looking for has not been achieved yet. Last night I stepped outside and as I looked up at the sky, low and behold there it was. That distinctive band of dimly lit night sky was staring me right in the eye. From my driveway I grabbed the camera, my tripod and set up for night photography.

As I awaited for cars to go by and motion lights to turn off, I continued to just stare at the stars. There is something that can be said about how a peaceful feeling comes from just simply enjoying the twinkle’s in the night sky.

The setup; A Canon 7d camera and the Tamrom 10 to 24 mm wide-angle zoom lens. Using an ISO of 400 to 800, I achieved these shots by employing an f-stop of 3.5 with exposure times between one and two minutes. Focused at 10 mm in manual mode with an infinite focus, and remote shutter release, I took advantage of the mirror lockup option as I snapped these images.

Under the Milky Way Tonight

Shot right above my head

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A summary of the eve; Granted and acknowledged, these shots are not what I hope to achieve. They are not as sharp and detailed as you would expect. When the right time and right place scenario comes into effect, the rules and lessons I have learned from past shoots will be applied to achieve the composition so sought after. The rule of 600 has to be applied here, as well as the proper style of tripod and possibly a higher ISO setting than I currently use to get theses shots. If you look closely you can see that the my exposure time in fact caused just a little bit of star tilt in these images. Depending on focal length we can easily correct this problem, by applying a few simple settings and a few mathematical calculations to eliminate the star tilt effect. With the fall season upon us, my time in the woods will be greatly increased,and I look forward to sharing some images of the majestic Whitetail Deer.

This will also be the time of year that allows me to capture the Milky way in all its glory, as my location will be in an area that does not suffer from the light pollution that surrounds my home base. Until that time, my best to you all and thanks again for all of your comments and feedback regarding my recent posts. One last thing I would like to mention. Recently Abe’s of Maine honored me with the selection of the Hummingbird Moth as their shot of the week. This honor awarded me with a fifty dollar credit towards my next purchase, and I would like to thank the team over at Abe’s for this honor.